SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

On May 12, 2017, the Missouri legislature passed a bill banning cities from adopting minimum wage rates higher than the state’s current rate of $7.70/hour. By pushing this bill through the House right before the end of the legislative session, Republican lawmakers sought to reverse St. Louis city’s new $10/hour minimum wage increase, which has been in effect since May 5.

This month, the House of Representatives passed by a vote of 229-197 the Republican-backed overtime bill titled the Working Families Flexibility Act. The act would enable employees to choose taking “comp time” or paid time off work instead of receiving overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Proponents of the bill say this will provide increased flexibility for workers who want to spend more time with their families, but critics believe it will weaken federal overtime protections and make it easier for employers to delay paying earned overtime wages.

St. Louis city’s new minimum wage law increasing the minimum wage to $10 per hour takes effect May 5, 2017. This comes after a circuit court lifted its injunction that previously blocked the ordinance from taking effect.